Organizations often give ‘lip service’ to the idea that what is important to the individuals that make it up, really matters. However, you won’t observe a high level of pride, dedication, and commitment to an organization’s mission and vision, unless that sentiment is more than just talk. Much time and money is invested trying to identify what behaviors demonstrate a high level of engagement within organizations. Should it require a lot of independent research to determine if someone you are in relationship with, is ‘just not into you?’
Mutually beneficial relationships are a two way street. In order for organizations to know if people are truly engaged, they need to ask them. Person to person, not survey to employee. The leadership in organizations must make it a priority to give, the same thing they want to receive: a high level of pride, dedication, and commitment to an individual’s mission and vision.
In recent years, there has been much talk about how to define an effective framework for ‘performance management.’ Showing genuine commitment to helping individuals develop and accomplish their personal goals may at first glance seem secondary when it comes to business. However, taking a ‘business comes first’ approach, may result in a huge missed opportunity. If the leadership in an organization determines the corporate goals, cascades them down, and then individuals are advised to ‘align’ their goals to the corporate goals, why would anyone be surprised to discover that there is a ‘disconnect’ which reveals itself as a ‘lukewarm’ commitment to the goals.
Showing genuine commitment to helping individuals develop and accomplish their personal goals as a primary rather than secondary objective of performance management will reveal the source of the ‘disconnect.’ If I’m ‘just not into you’ we both need to find that out… sooner rather than later.